Takashi Soga (Japanese, b. 1952)

Sea of the Ear Rings

Metal
Gift of Dudley D. Johnson in memory
of Dudley D. Johnson, Jr. (1961 – 2004)
AG.2008.3.1

Takashi Soga, born in Japan, is recognized globally for his kinetic sculptures that use gravity to challenge spatial relationships. He explains, “The title Sea of the Ear is the metaphor of my main concept – gravity. We have the sensor to feel gravity in the ear. I focus on the gravity to make unordinary space…The upper ring is moving up and down slowly by the wind, but this movement is something unusual…[the ring] seems to be independent in the air. When people first notice the movement, the space is changed dynamically, which is a new experience…The upper ring is released from the hold of gravity and breaks our fixed idea about how space changes. It makes us feel free.”[1]